Cosmos' Doggie Blog

This time of year, the media is saturated with tips on keeping New Year’s fitness resolutions. But it shouldn’t take a dog with a blog to tell you that the best advice is to simply do something you enjoy in a place you enjoy doing it.

If my only exercise option was to run around a smelly (even for a dog) strip mall gym, with music blaring so loud I couldn’t hear my own iPaw, I don’t think I could maintain my fitness resolutions for a week. However, thanks to the 1,200-acre fitness facility I call home, Balboa Park, it’s impossible for me to miss a workout. And the best part: membership is always free and any activity fees are usually charged on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Since many big box gyms like to boast about their indoor lap pool, jogging track, or full-size basketball court, I thought I would put things in perspective by highlighting just some of Balboa Park’s fitness facilities and activities:

I feel like a kid with a new puppy on Christmas morning … or should I say, I feel like a puppy with a new kid?

At any rate, 2015 celebrations in Balboa Park officially launch on December 31 at 7pm with the most spectacular concert event to hit the Spreckels Organ Pavilion since it first opened on New Year’s Eve 1914!

If you weren’t able to make the 1914 opening event, don’t worry because the Spreckels Centennial Concert will feature a rededication ceremony complete with none other than John D. Spreckels himself (or at least a reasonable facsimile). And if you can’t attend this century’s event in the flesh (or hide), you can watch it from the comfort of your home live on Ustream.

What has my tail wagging so much? Here is a taste of what this once-in-a-lifetime event has in store:

A grand procession of banner-carrying local dignitaries to open the celebration, led by 50 bagpipers piping

Additional musical fanfare with Westwind Brass

A re-enactment of the original dedication ceremony

A big-screen display of historic images from Balboa Park’s 100-year history

A first sniff at the newly refurbished, sparkling gold mica pipe facade

An original organ composition commemorating the event by Dr. Carol Williams, highlighting the brand new Centennial Tuba pipe

Additional performances by an array of top-dog talent, including members of the Moonlight Serenade Orchestra; former civic organists Jared Jacobsen (1978–1984) and Robert Plimpton (1985–2000); harpist Karen Rokos, who is the great granddaughter of the organ’s original installer; and Gina Seashore, carillonist for Balboa Park’s California Tower

Coney the Cat writes: Dear Cosmos, My family is so fixated on what’s happening for 2015, I’m curious about the activities ending in 2014 they may be overlooking.

Cosmos: Since I’d hate for curiosity to kill the … you know, I’ve put together this list of exhibitions that are truly the cat’s meow for 2014 and not to be missed:

Ripley’s Believe It or Not(closes 1/4/15; San Diego Air & Space Museum): It’s time to stop pussyfooting around if you haven’t had a chance to see one of the weirdest and wackiest exhibitions ever to claw its way to San Diego. The popular interactive exhibition was held over through 2014, but will finally end its unbelievable run in early January.

Illusion Nothing Is As It Seems (closes 1/11/15; Reuben H. Fleet Science Center): The other “you won’t believe your eyes” exhibition in Balboa Park will soon be vanishing before your very eyes as well. Over 20 different mind-bending exhibits demonstrate why humans should never trust their senses—providing all the more reason for them to adopt and take good care of their pets.

Presidio to Pacific Powerhouse: How the Military Shaped San Diego (closes 1/4/15; San Diego History Center, San Diego Air & Space Museum, Veteran’s Museum): The exhibition that was so big it took 10 different museums to tell its full story will permanently leave port soon. Fortunately, it’s not too late to pick up your Tour of Duty Passport and dog tag at the San Diego History Center and begin exploring the impact the military has had on our region since San Diego officially became a “military town” in 1774.

Surf Craft — Design and the Culture of Board Riding (closes 1/11/15; Mingei International Museum): Though officially part of Mingei’s 2015 exhibition series, American Icons, Surf Craft dog paddles off into the sunset early next month. The unique display explores the history and craft of surfboard design, from innovative board shapers and legendary riders to the copycats who followed in their wake.

Lead Sleds and Customs (closes 1/2/15; San Diego Automotive Museum): If Santa Claus had one of these “lead sleds” to deliver his presents in, he probably would’ve spent most of his toy budget on gas money. Since it’s no longer practical to have one of these curious-looking hot rods as the family car, we can fortunately still admire their cool lines in the context of a museum exhibition.

Last weekend, over 350,000 of my closest friends got a leg up on the holidays during Balboa Park December Nights. It’s worth pointing out, however, that as the Park’s official kick off to the holidays, the two-day extravaganza merely marks the beginning of holiday fun in Balboa Park — albeit a particularly spectacular one.

Though you may no longer be able to jostle packs of people on the Prado or crowd around special outdoor holiday performances and food vendors, there are still ample opportunities to experience the holidays in the Park through the end of the year. Here is just a small sampling in no particular order:

Poinsettia Display — The Botanical Building’s artful arrangement of hundreds of holiday plants sets the tone for the season.

It should be as plain as the nose I’m about to lick on your face that I live for the holidays. Being a cute, cuddly four-legged mammal, I’m ideally positioned to be a frequent recipient of this time of year’s spirit of giving. And I’m more than happy to reciprocate by, well, licking your face, hands, or shoe (your preference).

This dynamic of giving and receiving is nowhere more apparent than during the annual Balboa Park December Nights, when dozens of park organizations and the City of San Diego throw the biggest free public holiday party in the known universe for over 300,000 guests. This year’s kick off to both the holidays and the 2015 Centennial Celebrations is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, 3-11pm, and Saturday, Dec. 6, noon-11pm.

Thousands of volunteers will once again don their gay holiday apparel, tune up their singing voices, polish their brass bells, and serve up vats of holiday cheer. From traditional holiday performances and decorations to contemporary dance music and dazzling light displays, Balboa Park December Nights offers a little something for all creatures great and small.

In addition, every museum in the Park will be open free of charge from 5pm to 9pm on both Friday and Saturday nights. And believe me, it is no small matter for a museum that normally sees only a couple thousand or so visitors a week to be suddenly inundated with over a thousand visitors every hour!

In spite of this embarrassment of holiday richness thrown your way, you need not fret about the giving being a one-sided affair. With scores of vendors and food stations spread throughout the Park, including at the Spanish Village Art Center and the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages, there will be plenty of opportunities to show your appreciation. Most museum gift stores will be open as well, with proceeds from all sales supporting the respective museum’s mission. And, yes, they do take plastic — though not in the form of chewed up toys, I'm told.